Many of the policies and regulation planning processes involve collaborations among the multiples stakeholders and has the element of political will. But as individuals, whether we live near or far from coral reefs, whether we are avid ecotourists or prefer to not travel, whether we are divers or just sightseers, there’s something we all can do. After all, individual actions accumulate to make a difference.

If you are from the general public…

Avoid buying products that are made from coral reefs

• Reduce your carbon footprint. Carbon dioxides emissions lead to climate change and altered coean chemistry. These could be the greatest threat of all to coral reefs. These problems are global. By reducing individual emissions, it may not be enough, but it sets a powerful example, and sends a power message to people around you.
• Spread the awareness. Be the example. People are most influenced by family, peers and friends. So educate your family, peers, friends, (strangers if you want to) about the coral reefs and most importantly, on how they are able to help.
• Eat sustainably. Make the choice to eat from sustainable sources of seafood and avoid eating overfished species like groupers, snappers and sharks. Many of the seafood products that are sustainably sourced will have a eco-certification label. For more on making informed decisions about seafood, visit the Australian Marine Conservation Society , Sea Choice, and WWF , for guides and mobile applications.
• Support non-government organizations (NGOs). There are many NGOs that support reef conservation on the local, regional and global scale. You can contribute however you can, be it time or money, to help them and further their efforts in conservation and education.
• Advocate for conservation. Know the priorities of your governmental representatives and advocate environmental issues to them if such issues are not a major priority.

If you live near coral reefs

• Follow the rules. Be aware of local regulations on protection of reefs and marine species and abide by them. Being a good example for others encourages a sense of responsibility to people within your community
• Fish sustainably. Avoid the overfished, rare, baby and undersized species. Moderation is the key. Do not take more than what you need. And do no fish in areas that are set aside for spawning.
• Be careful. Avoid physically damaging the reefs with your boats, gears or even your hands and legs.
• Minimize indirect damage. Reduce use of chemicals and fertilizers. Find out if sewage is being treated; if it is not, press for change. Be aware of the sources of your seafood and the methods used to fish.
• Be an active player. Engage your local political representatives in the importance of reef conservation. Support with the local organizations and groups that protect the reefs. Work to establish more conservation measures in your area if they are insufficient.

If you visit coral reefs…

• Research prior to going. Choose eco-conscious tourism providers. Look for hotels and tourism operators that are sustainably managed such as treating the sewage, support local communities and honour conservation regulations.
• Visit the MPAs and contribute. By visiting MPAs and contributing (be it visitor fees or donations), you are helping them in their funding of reef conservation and management.
• Tell people if they are doing something wrong. Don’t be afraid to speak out if you see people doing activities that are harmful to the reeds, like stepping on corals or littering.
• Avoid buying souveniors made from corals and other marine species. By purchasing products made from corals, you are encouraging the excessive and sometimes illegal harvesting of the corals and animals.

If you are a diver/diving companies…

• Have dive guides. Studies found that by having dive-leaders brief divers and intervene underwater when they see divers damaging reefs; it reduces diver damage, in contrast to just giving short briefings. Divers also tend to mimic behaviour of the leader, so the dive leader should set an example.
• Have smaller dive groups. It is practical to have smaller dive groups so that the dive leaders are able to supervise all ofyou adequately. In any case, studies found that divers prefer to be in smaller groups as well.
• Be vigilant and careful. Divers with camera cause more damage than those without. If you plan to take photography or camera equipment down with you, be alert and careful of the reefs around you.
• Have floating buoys to mark descent and ascent. A study found out that shore diving appears to be more damaging to reefs than diving from boats as the divers swim across a shallow sandy area at the beginning to end of dives. So, if you’re a diving company, do place floating buoys to mark the start and end of the dive to avoid this problem.
• Stay away from reefs. Do not contact the reefs and avoid touching or holding on to any part of it.
• Be aware of the impacts night dives. If you like to dive at night, please be aware that night dives cause more than twice the number of diver contacts with the reefs than day dives, possibly due to reduced visibility so divers tend to stay closer to reefs. As divers, you are encouraged to stay far away from reefs at night.
• Avoid overly used dive sites. Sites that are heavily used are less able to recover from stressors due to sedimentation being re-suspended because of diving activities. Coral reefs resilience will be affected. So as divers, do avoid heavily used sites. As diving companies, be aware of sites that are frequently used and encourage and direct divers to sites that are not as heavily frequented. A meta-analysis of studies also found that divers prefer uncrowded and unfettered dive site experiences so it works well both for divers and coral reefs to be in less populated diving sites.